40 years old. Too old to have teeth straightened?
Discussion
It was my new year's resolution to sort out my general fitness, health and body. This started at Chrimbo when I asked for an Airfloss from the other-half. It's part of a hugely improved dental care routine that I'm meticulous about.
I'm blessed in having strong teeth - no fillings or any other work in all my years, apart from having both sets of wisdom teeth out (upper and lower - impacted!), and my number 3 tooth on the upper right quadrant removed when I was 12, again because there was no room for it to come through.. Gap closed just fine. Other than that my teeth have forgiven me for being not always treating them with the care they deserve before now, but they shined up just fine after a clean at the dentist a week back.
My attention now turns to my lower teeth. My mouth is/was 'borderline' cramped when I was growing up (see above) but the decision was made against a brace, unlike for my elder brother who had one in his teens and now has straight teeth. I'm not 100% happy with my lower set. The front 4 are a bit 'straight' (rather than following the curvature of the jawline) and the right quadrant teeth are 'tilted' inwards a bit towards my tongue. Left side not so bad but not perfect by any means.
I'm 40 in a few weeks. Is this too late in life to think about work to have them straightened? I'm not sure I'd consider anything invasive, but if someone said I had to wear a night-time lower brace for 18-24 months to help get them inline, I guess I could swallow that (pun intended
)
Keen to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences!
Cheers
S.
I'm blessed in having strong teeth - no fillings or any other work in all my years, apart from having both sets of wisdom teeth out (upper and lower - impacted!), and my number 3 tooth on the upper right quadrant removed when I was 12, again because there was no room for it to come through.. Gap closed just fine. Other than that my teeth have forgiven me for being not always treating them with the care they deserve before now, but they shined up just fine after a clean at the dentist a week back.
My attention now turns to my lower teeth. My mouth is/was 'borderline' cramped when I was growing up (see above) but the decision was made against a brace, unlike for my elder brother who had one in his teens and now has straight teeth. I'm not 100% happy with my lower set. The front 4 are a bit 'straight' (rather than following the curvature of the jawline) and the right quadrant teeth are 'tilted' inwards a bit towards my tongue. Left side not so bad but not perfect by any means.
I'm 40 in a few weeks. Is this too late in life to think about work to have them straightened? I'm not sure I'd consider anything invasive, but if someone said I had to wear a night-time lower brace for 18-24 months to help get them inline, I guess I could swallow that (pun intended
) Keen to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences!
Cheers
S.
My other half had Invisalign treatment. I didn't think she needed it but she wasn't really bothered what I thought 
Anyhoo £4,500 over 2 years (I think) and she's very happy with them now. She had to wear straighteners day and night I think and, now that the treatment has finished she wears them at nighttime only.
Anyhoo £4,500 over 2 years (I think) and she's very happy with them now. She had to wear straighteners day and night I think and, now that the treatment has finished she wears them at nighttime only.
It's not too late to have work done at all - I say go for it!
My old man had terrible teeth up until about 2 years go (he's 60 in a couple months time). Never had the opportunity to have braces or have his teeth sorted when he was younger, and he had always been self-conscious about them. A couple years back he decided enough was enough and ended up getting braces. He had the 'invisible' ones, and to be perfectly honest they live up to their name - you couldn't really see them at all.
After two or so years of treatment, he now has immaculate teeth. He still wears a retainer at night to keep them in-line, but it doesn't bother him and it's just part of routine now.
So, IMO, I'd go for it! You've got nothing to lose, and a great, straight smile to gain!
My old man had terrible teeth up until about 2 years go (he's 60 in a couple months time). Never had the opportunity to have braces or have his teeth sorted when he was younger, and he had always been self-conscious about them. A couple years back he decided enough was enough and ended up getting braces. He had the 'invisible' ones, and to be perfectly honest they live up to their name - you couldn't really see them at all.
After two or so years of treatment, he now has immaculate teeth. He still wears a retainer at night to keep them in-line, but it doesn't bother him and it's just part of routine now.
So, IMO, I'd go for it! You've got nothing to lose, and a great, straight smile to gain!
Edited by VW_Sam_ on Monday 29th January 12:52
Probably a better time to have it done to be honest. I had mine botched by our NHS dentist when I was about 16, was supposed to be done at a younger age but I was really scared of the dentist. They were pretty straight when they'd finished but have gone a bit wonky again of the years. Never quite understood the obsession with getting them done when you're young as you're still growing? Only thing is dentistry is free for kids I guess?
I'm 42 years old and currently have braces on both upper and lower teeth! I'd never been happy with how cramped they were (and they were difficult to clean properly, due to overlapping) so I asked my dentist to refer me to an orthodontist.
Treatment has cost about £3600 and will take 12-18 months. They are also correcting my overbite, as well as straightening my teeth. So far I'm very pleased with the results. You may be able to have Invisalign, but to me that sounded more hassle than just having braces on (you need to wear the retainers for Invisalign about 22 hours a day, so only a small window for eating, etc). With adult teeth, you need to be patient - if you move them too quickly the roots can be damaged (as obviously your teeth have been fixed in position for a much longer time). Avoid any of this 'Six months smiles' nonsense you find on the internet and go to a proper orthodontist. Invisalign might be ok if your teeth only need minor correction, but braces I think will be more effective in the long term.
My braces are clear (so not the metal tracks of our youth), and I paid a bit more for that. If I did it again I wouldn't even bother spending extra on that - I think I'm old enough not to be embarrassed by it. Mine aren't that noticeable, people get used to them very quickly, and I don't really care what they think. The main comment I get is people with a similar question to yours and a surprising number are keen to get theirs straightened, too. My thinking was that hopefully I'll live another 40 years, so I may as well do it now and get the full use out of my straight teeth!
It does take a bit of getting used to having them in your mouth, and when I have the wires tightened it can be sore for 48 hours or so, but paracetamol sorts it out. Hopefully mine will come off in the next 6 months or so.
Hope that helps!
Treatment has cost about £3600 and will take 12-18 months. They are also correcting my overbite, as well as straightening my teeth. So far I'm very pleased with the results. You may be able to have Invisalign, but to me that sounded more hassle than just having braces on (you need to wear the retainers for Invisalign about 22 hours a day, so only a small window for eating, etc). With adult teeth, you need to be patient - if you move them too quickly the roots can be damaged (as obviously your teeth have been fixed in position for a much longer time). Avoid any of this 'Six months smiles' nonsense you find on the internet and go to a proper orthodontist. Invisalign might be ok if your teeth only need minor correction, but braces I think will be more effective in the long term.
My braces are clear (so not the metal tracks of our youth), and I paid a bit more for that. If I did it again I wouldn't even bother spending extra on that - I think I'm old enough not to be embarrassed by it. Mine aren't that noticeable, people get used to them very quickly, and I don't really care what they think. The main comment I get is people with a similar question to yours and a surprising number are keen to get theirs straightened, too. My thinking was that hopefully I'll live another 40 years, so I may as well do it now and get the full use out of my straight teeth!
It does take a bit of getting used to having them in your mouth, and when I have the wires tightened it can be sore for 48 hours or so, but paracetamol sorts it out. Hopefully mine will come off in the next 6 months or so.
Hope that helps!
When I was in my mid 30s I had a quote for correcting my overbite, and was told they needed to take four teeth out and break my jaw, which put me off somewhat! The problem I have is that my bottom teeth rest on my gum, making me very prone to painful and uncomfortable gum swellings - I wasn't told that when I was offered a brace as a child, I was told it was purely cosmetic! I decided not to have the work done and don't regret that choice, but I'd recommend seeing an orthodontist - the guy I saw was excellent at explaining everything in detail to me and the consultation may have even been free, I can't remember now.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Really interesting. I've a follow-up with my dentist in 10 weeks so I'll discuss the ins and outs then of what's possible and what's been suggested here.
Regarding the overbite, I think I have one myself. When at 'rest' my top front teeth sit in front of my lower front teeth. The thing is, I'm not sure how this could reasonably be corrected - my front 2 upper teeth are a bit bigger than the surrounding teeth, so if you run your finger along the biting edge of my top teeth the front teeth 'tips' sit a lot lower than the rest (though not quite 'Bugs Bunny' like). So I wouldn't want to try and rest the top teeth on the bottom, if you see what I mean?
The last question is, is it normal to have the biting edges 'smoothed out'? I've a few teeth where it's a bit jagged, and not so comfortable for my tongue to run along them...
Regarding the overbite, I think I have one myself. When at 'rest' my top front teeth sit in front of my lower front teeth. The thing is, I'm not sure how this could reasonably be corrected - my front 2 upper teeth are a bit bigger than the surrounding teeth, so if you run your finger along the biting edge of my top teeth the front teeth 'tips' sit a lot lower than the rest (though not quite 'Bugs Bunny' like). So I wouldn't want to try and rest the top teeth on the bottom, if you see what I mean?
The last question is, is it normal to have the biting edges 'smoothed out'? I've a few teeth where it's a bit jagged, and not so comfortable for my tongue to run along them...
Yes, 40+ is okay. But make sure you have perfect gum health and strong roots and maintain a high calcium / zinc / magnesium / vit K diet. As above, do it slowly over 2 years and don't rush it. And if the dentist starts talking about removing teeth or shaving teeth or breaking jawbones, or other extreme measures, then best to say no and run a mile.
Regarding the overbite - you'd obviously need to speak with your orthodontist, but as far as I have gathered the aim is not that it gets completely corrected so that your two sets of teeth sit on top of each other, but rather just to reduce it. Mine was originally 5mm and is now down to 4.5. I read an article online about a young girl who had a 17mm overbite, and that was operated on to correct it - most people's will of course not be anything like that. I'm not sure what is considered an 'acceptable' level of overbite, so ask your ortho.
Agreed that anyone talking about breaking jaws, etc, is to be avoided! You can do a lot more with a lot less these days in dentistry - things have moved on from when we were teenagers. You'll be amazed at how quickly your teeth move in to the new position, but of course the braces need to stay on a good amount of time to make sure they stay there.
Be interested to hear how you get on!
Agreed that anyone talking about breaking jaws, etc, is to be avoided! You can do a lot more with a lot less these days in dentistry - things have moved on from when we were teenagers. You'll be amazed at how quickly your teeth move in to the new position, but of course the braces need to stay on a good amount of time to make sure they stay there.
Be interested to hear how you get on!
Thanks everyone! Really useful contributions from you all.
I think compared to some my lower teeth aren't that bad, and when I mentioned it to the other half the other night she dismissed it as 'unnecessary', but I think my confidence would improve if they were better. Hopefully the fact that they aren't so bad will mean that any 'fix' will be easier.
I'll see what the dentist says next.
I think compared to some my lower teeth aren't that bad, and when I mentioned it to the other half the other night she dismissed it as 'unnecessary', but I think my confidence would improve if they were better. Hopefully the fact that they aren't so bad will mean that any 'fix' will be easier.
I'll see what the dentist says next.
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